1.31.2010

Cherry Blossom Festival

I was looking forward to my first festival the moment I got here. I had heard Okinawans are always looking for an excuse to party. The blooming cherry blossoms seemed like a good reason to celebrate, so Fred and I headed up to Nago for the annual cherry blossom festival. Nago is a leisurely 40 minute drive from our house. We took the scenic route and made a few stops on the way. The further north we went, the more tropical and lush the island appeared. The coast was spotted with big name resorts along the way - the Renaissance, Marriott, and Intercontinental. Definite vacation area. But for good reason - it was beautiful.

Nago was a cute town on the ocean. While I don't think many Americans lived there, they were out in full force for the festival. The main street was closed for festival-goers and was lined with food vendors and carnival games. Music blarred throughout the town. I was starving when I got there so we hit the food vendors first. Lots of fried foods and meats on sticks - not too different from the states. Fred suggested the takoyaki - literally translated as fried octopus I think. It looked like a soft bread ball with sauce on top. It was hot, doughy and had a chuck of octopus inside. Quite delicious and apparently a popular festival food. After a few octopus balls and a couple beers, we decided to climb up the hill to see the cherry blossoms.

The trees climbed up a hillside and were mostly in bloom. Stone stairs ran up the hillside for pedestrians to climb along the trees. It was quite a hike, but the trees and view from the top were beautiful. A small shrine was set up at the half-way point. Again, I almost felt like I was at Epcot because of all the Americans walking around. The cherry blossoms aren't blooming in mainland Japan yet. Okinawa gets them first. Fred and I will be visiting Tokyo near the end of February, but I don't think their blossoms will be out until end of March.